Objective: This case report and systematic review aimed to answer whether patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) can be prosthetically treated with implants. Osteogenesis imperfecta is a rare genetic disease characterized by a type I collagen defect leading to bone fragility and connective tissue disorders.
Case Report: A 64-year-old female patient with OI type 1 presented for the first time to a specialty consultation for rare diseases with oral involvement in May 2019. The patient had received alendronic acid (p.o.) for many years to treat OI. At the consultation time, she was fitted with maxillary and mandibular complete dentures, and the complete mandibular denture had inadequate support. Implants were planned to stabilize the prosthesis. Under local anaesthesia, two tissue-level implants (Straumann Standard Plus®, Basel, Switzerland, SLActive 3.3 mm × 10 mm) were placed in regions 32 and 44. After a healing period of three months, uncovery took place, and the prosthetic restoration with locators could be performed two weeks later. Since implant placement, the patient has attended regular check-ups for one year and has shown no signs of drug-associated osteonecrosis or peri-implant infection.
Methods: Because of the paucity of studies on implants in individuals with OI, a systematic review was performed. The search queries were based on the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome (PICO) procedure with the question, "Can people with osteogenesis imperfecta (P) be successfully treated and prosthetically restored (O) with dental implants (I)?"
Results: The primary outcome was implant survival. Supporting data were analysed descriptively. Twelve studies were finally included. Twenty-three patients were treated with a total of 116 implants, with 5.0 (±3.8) implants placed per patient. Bone augmentation was performed before or during implant placement in 30 implants (25.8%). A sinus lift was performed before the placement of 19 implants (28.8%). In 18 patients, implants were placed in a two-stage procedure. In four patients, 14 implants (12.1%) were immediately loaded. Implant survival was 94.0%, with a mean follow-up of 59.1 months (±36.1). A total of seven implants were lost in four different patients. Three implants (2.6%) were lost before loading, and two implant fractures (1.7%) were described.
Conclusion: The available data show the loss of only seven implants, with two of these implants lost due to implant fractures not attributable to the patient. With the limitations of this review and based on the available data, implants have a high survival rate (94.0%) in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. Therefore, implants may be a viable treatment option for replacing missing teeth in patients with OI and should be considered in treatment planning after a detailed individual risk assessment.